What is a pension analysis?

What if you were only half covered without knowing it?

Marc, 42, runs an architecture practice in Lausanne. He earns a good living, has two children, a mortgage, and thinks everything is in order on the financial security front. Then one day his adviser shows him that if he became disabled tomorrow, his family would have to live on less than CHF 4'000 a month. Barely half his current income.

How is that possible, when he pays into AVS and his pension fund every month?

Welcome to the little-known but fundamental world of Swiss pension provision.

What is a pension analysis?

A snapshot of your financial security in the face of hard knocks.

A pension analysis is a full assessment of your situation in the event of death, disability or retirement. Put plainly, the question is: "If life goes off the rails, are you (really) protected?"

It rests on a study of the three pillars:

• 1st pillar (AVS/AI): the subsistence minimum guaranteed by the State.
• 2nd pillar (LPP): compulsory occupational savings.
• 3rd pillar: private pension provision, optional but often indispensable.

Why is it essential, even when everything seems fine?

Because gaps are more common than people think.

Many senior managers and self-employed people believe their situation is "comfortable". But in reality:

• Replacement income in the event of disability rarely covers more than 60% of income.
• In retirement, the coverage rate often falls below 50%.
• In the event of death, the survivor's pension can be too small to maintain the household's standard of living.

A pension analysis reveals those gaps, with the figures to back it up.

What a good pension analysis contains

Your projected benefits

We simulate your situation in the three critical scenarios: disability, death, retirement.

Your personal gaps

We compare your entitlements with your real needs, based on your lifestyle, your outgoings and your plans.

• Concrete, tailored solutions
• The optimal split between the 2nd and 3rd pillars
• Choosing the right pension product
• The associated tax optimisation
• Recommendations on life assurance, LPP buy-backs or wealth steering

Real, tangible benefits

More security, less uncertainty.

Thanks to this analysis:

• You protect the people close to you (spouse's pension, cover for children)
• You take control of your financial future
• You optimise your tax position while building wealth

A concrete example: Sophie, 39, self-employed

Sophie is a freelance graphic designer in Neuchatel. After a pension analysis, she discovers:

• No disability cover through the LPP
• An estimated retirement income of CHF 1'900 a month: not enough to live on decently
• No protection for her children if she were to die

The result: a pillar 3a with risk cover put in place, a pillar 3b opened alongside it, and retirement planning with partial buy-backs into an LPP scheme for the self-employed. She has been sleeping better since.

How do you carry out your pension analysis?

With a professional… or a tool, but never alone.

Calculators exist for a first look. But only a guided analysis gives you a fine-grained reading of your situation, matched to your life goals.

Get support from an independent specialist, not from the first insurance salesperson who comes along.

Conclusion: an essential step, not one to put off

Not doing your pension analysis is like crossing a bridge with your eyes closed. You do not know whether it is solid… until it collapses.

Take the time, do it properly once. For you. For your family. For tomorrow.